Pages

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Savory Monkey Bread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Monkey bread was popularized in the 1950's by James Beard. The first versions of this pull-apart bread were sweet affairs designed for breakfast or brunch. Given the nature of the bread, it was only a matter of time before aspiring chef's came up with a savory counterpart. While they never enjoyed the same popularity as their sweet cousins, they were the rage for a while and could routinely be found at cocktail and buffet parties. I hadn't made either bread for years, but I was up to my elbows in bread dough this weekend and decided to use some of it to make a savory bread for a soup and salad supper I had planned. It helped make the meal more special than it actually was. If you have time, and are looking for something to perk up a plain meal, you might want to give this a try. I made my bread dough, but a frozen commercial product would work nearly as well. I'm less enthusiastic about the use of tube biscuits that some folks use to make the bread. While, I've fashioned a recipe of sorts, it really reflects my flavor preferences.I hope you'll make the recipe your own by using the herbs and spices you most enjoy. I like to serve this bread warm from the oven. If you make the bread ahead of time, I suggest heating it before it's served. It is soft and lovely when its warm, but it can taste a lot like cold pizza if it sits around too long. The experts have myriad theories as to how the bread got its name. If you're curious you can find the information here. The recipe I used appears below.

Directions:1) Combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl.
2) Heat milk, oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan until it reaches a temperature of to 120 to 130 degrees F.
3) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, beating just until moistened. Add egg and beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
4) Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
5) Combine cheese, sesame seeds, garlic salt, paprika and herbs in a small bowl. Punch dough down. Divide into 32 pieces; roll each into a ball.
6) Drizzle 2 teaspoons butter into a 10-inch tube pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with one third of cheese mixture. Top with 16 balls. Repeat layers. Drizzle with remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining cheese mixture. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.
7) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Yield: 1 loaf (32 pieces).

I'm so happy to have this recipe, Mary. I've been routinely buying a similar bread from a nearby bakery every time I want some crusty herbed rolls to go with soup. I love the pull-apart nature of this bread, can't wait to try it.

This makes me think seriously about making bread, monkey bread. I'd have to use store-bought dough, that's just me. I'll bet I could pull it off. If you read this, I have a question. What's a tube pan. The bread looks almost like it was made in a Bundt pan.

Mary - Thanks so much for your kind words regarding my blog and my girls. I have been visiting your blog on and off for a while and I love it. I am still just a beginner but so enjoy it. I look forward to visiting yours more often. Thanks again! Susan

I would probably eat this whole thing! How shocked I was to see Zasu Pitts in your link! She had a recipe for this! I remember her from way back, she was an actress. Now I'm off to look at your orzo pilaf recipe again!!

Hi Mary, hope you had a great weekend! This loaf looks beautiful. Just wanted you to know that I am about to publish a post about your salmon cake recipe with a link to your blog. :-) Those salmon cakes are one of our favorite things now.

Doing some catching up in the blog world...Mary, this looks divine! Inspirational, too. Now you've got me thinking about monkey bread! (Not surprising, really; any recipe with James Beard roots and developed by you is going to be seriously good.)

Privacy Policy

This blog does not share personal information with third-parties nor does it store information about your visit for use other than to analyze content performance through the use of cookies, which you can turn off at anytime by modifying your Internet browser's settings. Third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a a users prior visits to this website. Google's use of the DoubleClick cookie enables it and its partners to serve ads. This blog is not responsible for the republishing of the content found here on other Web sites or media without the owners permission. This privacy policy is subject to change without notice